Seasons
by JoeJonasIsMyself
Summary: October is an optimistic person, she enjoys making up her own fantasies of leaving the Malfoy Manor and going somewhere far away. When she gets her Hogwarts letter, she is really happy! There's just one problem, she doesn't know how to read it. She gets the help from the young boy who lives in the Manor too, but is there something more? They'll find out in their fifth year.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

It was dark and dingey in the Malfoy house when the two young witch and wizard got their manilla enveloupes that certified their admission to Hogwarts School of Whichcraft and Wizardry.

The time was 9:30 at night, and the family was sitting around the dinner table. Their young servant girl was supplying the dishes from the kitchen, where a trio of house elves slaved making them. It was not your average wizarding household, but the Malfoy's were not your average wizarding family. In the day and age, human enslavement was frowned upon, but they were a very traditional family.

Usually, the little girl went and got the mail in the evening when she was done serving dinner, which was one of her only free moments during the busy day. The family didn't really know her name, she had never said. In this time period, there was a black market so to speak with trading muggles that knew about magic. They could go for a high price if they were young, which this girl was. The family could afford it though, they were ritch and lived in a big house.

She came to the house one day with a large woman, who may have only been normal height but compared to the small, scared eight year old, she was a giant. The unamed woman never mentioned a name, only that she was eight and a hard worker. She left briskly, complaining about having better work to do other than dropping off stubborn children to their new households.

The little girl was small in height, and although she wasn't lacking in weight she wasn't overweight. She was slouching, like she was nervous of the new people. She had long, brownish gold hair and bright hazel eyes. She wore her hair in two long braids down her back, and she came dressed in a grey gown.

However, she still didn't have a name. She had to sleep in the servant headquarters, which were basically a room shared by three, now four, servants of the family. It was cramped and dusty, which was not a good environment for her. The small child was scared of the other servants, and she didn't want to sleep in the same room as anyone else in the strange new mansion, so she crept into the living room because she was cold and sat by the fire. She was very sleepy, and soon the fire went out and she drifted off, landing in the pile of coal and ashes.

The next morning, the missus was shocked to find the servant girl there, all covered in black coal. She looked dirty and ugly, so the older woman screamed, waking the poor child up. She yelled, "Get out of there you vermon and start helping with chores!"

The little girl just laughed though, and said, "Have you ever read Cinderella? I'm just like her now!"

Mrs. Malfoy was confused, and getting annoyed with her. "Get back to your chores! I mean it vermon!"

The name just stuck with the family, everyone called her vermon. The little boy didn't like to call her that though. Actually, he didn't like to even say anything to her. So he never said that, and they had what you might call a mutual understanding of eachother. Not exactly a friendship, but a mutual understanding.

The girl grew up in three years and filled out. Now, she still had the young look about her. Although her hair was still the same gold laced brown color, it was long (about to the small of her back), and she had a very pretty face for a girl of eleven. She was a bit curvier, but not that much. She wasn't stick-like anymore. Her hazel eyes shined just as brightly, even though she had been physically abused by both the father and mother of the small boy. She was still happy, and it seemed that she would be happy no matter what. They were her family after all, she didn't know any different.

The girl was very happy when the Malfoy's had company over. Not only were there new faces to study, she sometimes got a new gown so she could look "presentable" to the new guests. When that happened, she would take extra care to wash her face. Sometimes, she would imagine she was a princess like the ones she had seen pictures of in books she stole to look at from the bookshelf in the living room.

The young girl thought of this as she made her way down the dark path toward the mail box. The path wasn't lit very well, so she couldn't see and ended up bumping into many of the big green trees that lined the pathway. Eventually though, she made it two the white box and saw the owl perched on top of it.

She couldn't help but smile as she fed the brown bird the remainder of her dinner from last night, which wasn't much, but the bird ate it as if it was heaven. Then, she walked back up the path with the two letters.

She quietly tip toed to the father of the family, who she must admit, was the scariest of them all. He grabbed the letters from her without a second glance and looked down to read the labels, perfectly written in writing which she could only guess was cursive.

He frowned, then smiled. "Draco, one of these is for you. It's your Hogwarts letter," said the man.

Although the girl didn't know what Hogwarts was, she was curious and listened as she cleared their plates. The boy took the letter from his father and a smirk appeared on his face, "Well I'm not surprised. But what's the other letter?"

"I don't konw, it's adressed to an October. Must be a wrong adress," replied the white haired man.

The woman frowned, "Dumbledore doesn't usually send letters to the wrong family Lucuis, let me see it."

At this point, the little girl didn't want to speak up. But indeed, her name was October. That was her letter. Then, the man handed it to the woman. She frowned, "It says here that whoever it is lives in the Malfoy Manor."

Then, October spoke up. "Uh, I think that it's mine."

The dinner table went silent. They hadn't taken into account that the girl had a name, much less possesed any magic.

In a harsh tone, Mrs. Malfoy was the first to speak. "I thought that you didn't have any powers."

Then, a fist banged on the table. "It is not her place to speak in this household. That lost you your dinner for tonght vermon, It cannot be the little vermon's letter, she doesn't have any magic. It's not possible, end of story."

October frowned, but she wasn't going to let the strange people know that she was upset by what they said. Instead she said timedly, "Well, can I at least have it?"

Mr. Malfoy's face got red. "You are NOT going to pull anything tonight, and that's final! I'm not giving you the letter back!"

Little baby tears started pouring down her face, she didn't want anyone to be upset at her. She began sweeping as the family left to do their own duties. She just wanted to have her letter back. It was in fact hers, it had her name on it.

She watched Mr. Malfoy very closely that night, and she watched him throw it into the fire that she liked to sleep by. It gave her a wonderful idea.

Late, about 11:30, she tip-toed into the living room. It was big and warm near the fire. There were two couches and they were both made of green velvet. The shades on the bay window were always drawn, and two bookshelves were on either side of it. There was also an oak desk in one corner, which remained spotless because they all had their own seperate offices anyways.

Then, started poking around in the remains of the fire until she found the reminants of her letter, scorched and burnt like a crisp. She was still happy though, it was hers. She hadn't really posessed anything of her very own, and the aspect of it caused her to cry again. She curled up into a ball, her braids had come out and her loose hair hung over her head and shoulders like a curtain.

Although she tried to be very quiet about her crying, the boy had still heard her. He came downstairs, treading lightly on the creaky floorboards. He came to a hault when he found October crying in front of the dying embers of the fireplace, the letter grasped in her hands.

"Why are you crying? It's just a letter," he said harshly. But October wasn't one who took anything to heart, she was too happy most of the time for that.

"Look at my letter! It's mine, no one else's!" she said happily, "But I can't read it."

He held out his hand, as if he wanted her to give him her precious letter. "Come on, I'm not going to take it. I just want to see if I can read it."

Finally she gave him the letter, but he was confused. You could still make out most of the letter, only unimportant parts of it were burnt. "Well I can read it, it's not in that bad of shape."

Her cheeks turned red, "It's not that it's too burnt, I can't read anything." She didn't really want to admit that, but it was the only way to explain why she was sad.

Again, Draco didn't understand. "Didn't your parents teach you how to read when you were young?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No." She didn't want to elaborate on the subject, it was a little personal considering that it was pracically the first time they had a real conversation aside from brief run ins while she was completing her daily chores.

"Oh. I didn't know that," he said. They sat there for a minute, Draco trying to think of something to say. He couldn't just teach her to read in one night, that would be silly. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Well, since you can't read it, how about I read it to you?" he asked her. October nodded her head vigorusly, she wanted to know why she of all people was getting a letter.

"Dear October, you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please arrive on September first to platform nine and three-quarters, the Hogwarts Express leaves at 11:00 AM sharp. You are allowed to bring a frog, cat, or owl for the duration of your stay. We have attached a supply list of things that you need for your classes, if you need financial help please contact Gringotts Bank for more information on our school scholarships. Thank you, Professer McGonagal."

She was in awe. Although she didn't know exactly what it meant, she wanted to ask him. "What does that mean? Does it mean that I'm a witch?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yes, at least I think so. There is a supply list attached here on the back if you need."

She was shocked, maybe she could go to a school like the other children that she had occasionally seen. "Will you read me the supply list?" she asked.

Although Draco would rather be sleeping (he was tired enough from this night, it was almost 12:30), he agreed to meet her in the same place, same time tomorrow night.

"Thank you! See you tommorow Draco!" the hazel-eyed girl said happily.

"You're welcome, sleep tight October," he replied with uncertainess. He had never said her name out loud, then again he hadn't known it until that very same night.

She tucked the burnt letter under her pillow in the servant's quarters.

**What do you think? This is only chapter one, so I'm still experimenting a little bit, but does anyone like where this is going? Do you like October? ****And if later in the book October was going to have a nickname, what should it be? I tried to think of some, Ocky, Oct, Octopus... I really don't know anymore XD**

**Thank you! It means a lot to me if you review and follow!  
Josie**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

The nights went by quickly, and still Draco and October met secretly, late at night in the green living room near the ashes of the fire. She would never admit it, but she thought the Malfoy boy was handsome when he tried. When he was angry (which was most of the time), she didn't like him as much. But there were times that he would show a hint of a smile, or he would laugh at her jokes. Then, he was very beautiful.

They had read the letter several times over and over, and October stayed delighted. Draco had explained to her one night that the letter meant she was a witch, and she could do magic like his parents. October smiled at this, because everyone had told her that she didn't mean anything all her life. That she was not magical, and she never would be. However, October knew that sometimes people made mistakes, and they had mistaken her for someone who didn't own magic.

Her and Draco over the course of the next few weeks became friends, you might say. And although he didn't want to admit it, Draco had taken a liking to October. She was always fascinated by the most peculiar things. She was happy just because she got a Hogwarts letter, something that at least 200 eleven year olds got every year. While he had everything and still failed to see the good in the world, she practically owned nothing and still her outlook on things was bright.

One rainy day, they sat near the fire again. "Draco, do you think that I could go to Hogwarts?" she asked, looking hopeful at her only friend.

Draco knew the answer. He didn't want to tell her, didn't want to destroy the gleam in her eyes when he talked about the letter and her newfound magical abilities. In the end, he shook his head, "October, as much as I know you would be really happy to go, I don't think my parents would allow it. You know how strict they are. They aren't freely going to give up someone who does housework for them."

She felt tears coming on. It was her one and only chance to escape, and she wanted to take it. She wiped her eyes with her fist before speaking, "But I have magical powers, doesn't that mean I can go?"

She was full on crying now, and Draco didn't exactly know what to do. The only girls he had been around were his mother and aunt, and they certainly didn't freely cry about anything in public. He didn't give out hugs, or console people very often, but this was a special occasion. His one and only friend was crying, and he couldn't really do anything to fix the situation. He cautiously put his arms around the small girl, and she in turn did the same.

They stayed like this for about ten minutes, until her crying had ceased to just little tears here and there. They were still hugging. "If you want, maybe I can ask my parents if they would let you go," said Draco.

He knew what he was getting himself into, and didn't really want to disappoint her, but at least he could try. October would be understanding if he failed, and his parents didn't agree.

She looked at him and a bright smile appeared on her face. "Yes, yes! That would be perfect! Thank you so much." This time she hugged him quickly. Then, she turned her eyes to the small clock on the end table next to her. It was already 12:30.

"It's already 12:30! You better get to bed, Draco," she said.

"See you tomorrow," he replied. He walked out the open archway, but not before looking back at October, who was setting up her pillow next to the fire. "Why do you always sleep here, not in the servant's quarters?" he asked.

She smiled, "One time, the mistress that took care of me and the other children read us a story. It was about a girl called Cinderella, she was called that because she slept in the ashes of the fireplace. In the end of the story, she became a princess and married a prince. I sleep here so maybe someday I will be like her. Besides, I don't like the servant's quarters."

Draco knew that it was her imagination running off with her again like it usually does. But that was what made October, October. Her imagination and positivity about everything. So he smiled, "That makes sense. Goodnight, October."

She smiled back, "Night, Draco." And she rested her head on the stained pillow.

* * *

The next morning was green, and there were dew drops on the blades of grass that were outside Draco Malfoy's window. They were from the rainy night before, and Draco worried if October was alright sleeping in the living room with the big window while it rained. It must have been cold. He was sitting on his bench, thinking about the previous night.

Draco reflected on his relationship with October. He really liked her, and wanted to make her happy. Asking his parents would defiantly get him in trouble, and he wondered if it was worth it. Then, he remembered when she was crying into his shoulder. He didn't want that to happen again, not because it was awkward, because he didn't want her to not like him.

However, the more Draco thought about it, the more he realized that he kind of owed something to her. He didn't even know her name until a few weeks ago. It wasn't very nice, seeing as he

So, he put on jeans and a white sweater and went downstairs to join his mother and father for breakfast. He decided that he would talk about it to them. But how to bring it up? He couldn't just say, "Oh, by the way me and the servant October have met up late at night without your permission and I was wondering if she could go to Hogwarts too so that I would have a friend." For obvious reasons that wasn't what he was going to say.

But maybe there was another approach he could take.

Finally, he got to the cold, uninviting dining room. October set all the dishes on the table, and after she was gone Draco knew it was his chance. He didn't want to ask his parents in front of her because he was afraid they would hurt either of them.

"Mother, father. I have a question for you," he said nervously, pulling at the ends of his shirt.

His mother smiled at him, "What is it Draco?"

This was it. This was the moment he had waited for. "So I was thinking about a few weeks ago, when-" he stopped for a moment. Calling her October would be too much of a giveaway, "-we got the letter for the girl. Maybe she should go to Hogwarts too."

Draco's father gave him a steely gaze. Just when he was going to say something, his mother piped in. "Why would you say that? Do you not like her? We can get rid of her if you-"

"No no, that's not what I meant," Draco said quickly, "I just mean that maybe we could consider letting her go there. She doesn't even know how to read, how will she be a good servant in the future if she can't read?"

His mother considered this, but Lucius was too quick. "No, absolutely not. You know, owning humans is illegal nowadays. Think of if she decided to tell anyone. No, we cannot let that happen. She can't read, too bad. Maybe she will learn on her own someday."

Draco was dissapointed that he couldn't convince them to let her go, but he knew that was going to be the outcome anyways. How to tell her though... he wanted her to still like him.

* * *

Late that very same night, October and Draco met again in the warm library. She looked excited, and Draco tried his best to put on a smile until he had to tell her the bad news.

"So, how did it go?" she asked.

He ran a hand through his disheveled curls, "I'm really sorry October, I couldn't get them to let you go."

She frowned, and her whole posture sagged, "That's okay."

"It is?" he asked, surprised that she wasn't mad at him.

"Yeah," October said, "Of course, I'm still disappointed. But I know you did your best. I know you tried. Thank you for that."

It was just then that Draco realized how much he liked October.

* * *

The next few weeks it was all hustle and bustle in the Malfoy household. Everyone was preparing for Draco to leave for Hogwarts, it was a big deal in the Malfoy household. He and October kept up the nightly visits for a little while, and they became even better friends. October was dreary when he had to leave for the year.

"So you won't be back until Christmas? That's like, four months away!" she said one night, her hands flying up in the air to express her point.

He sighed, "Yes, but I will be sure and write you. I know how it can feel in the manor for months unaccompanied, with no friends."

She calmed down a little bit, "Yes, but you have to know how much I'll miss you. You were my first real friend, Draco. No one will ever replace you."

It was one of the only times that he had felt really loved by anyone, even his parents. "The same goes for you, October."

She was there when the train took off, her waving goodbye, not wanting anyone to know why there were tears running down her pale face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

October's life spiraled downward after Draco left. Although they had known each other for only a few months, it seemed like they had been friends forever. She thought often of the toe-head blonde boy as she did her normal daily chores. Even though he was gone, she liked to pretend he was right there next to her, asking her if she needed help with the dishes.

Of course, she still had contact with him. When Draco was still at home, he had taught her how to write and read little by little. Her grammar was about as good as a seven-year old, but she was still writing to him, and that was all that mattered. At first, it was very hard to read his letters because he wrote in cursive, but eventually she got the hang of it. She was a fast learner.

In addition, October had stolen books from the shelves in the library. There was a method to it, she had come up with it after the initial challenges of writing a letter. She first picked a book, one that didn't seem of interest to Mr. Malfoy, and she stole it from the shelf. She was sure to not leave fingerprints in the dust, she didn't want him thinking that she was snooping around in his personal collection. He was sure to get mad if he suspected that of her.

After acquiring the stolen book, she would open it up. The first time she stole a book, it was small and thin. October thought this was the best way to start reading, because her skills weren't good enough for the big, thick books on the top shelf. To her surprise, after doing her best to read ten pages, the book had "Chapter Two" written at the top.

She wondered if the author had split the rest of the book up this way, and so she looked at all the pages and sure enough, the book had a total of fifteen chapters. It was from then on she decided to read one chapter of the book every night before going to sleep. She could just make out the words from the light of the dying embers. turning on the lamp would surely wake one of the members of the household, and the Malfoy's still didn't know she was sleeping there.

The family had been hard on her since he had left, but she didn't blame them. She was sad, too. There was more physical punishment, which she wasn't entirely used to yet. Often, if she did something wrong one of them would slap her or hit her on the back of the head. Now, it was more like getting kicked several times, or punches being thrown at her.

She knew that their actions had purpose, but that didn't make them alright. Desperatly, every night she tried to heep the memories in the darkest corner of her mind.

The third book she read was one called, "Grimm Fairy Tales." It was a book where every chapter, there was a new story. She quite enjoyed this book, and the first story she read entitled, "Cinderella". She kept reading, and then realized it was the same story her mistress had read to her and the other girls at the squib center.

Originally, her intent had been to read one chapter and then tear out the pages so that she could write on the back, but she liked the story too well. Not to mention, while wizarding books were only printed on one side of the parchment, muggle books were printed on both. It was the perfect excuse to not rip up the story.

So then again, she quietly stood up on the green chair, taking care to be silent as a mouse to not wake the family. After she had reached the full height of her and the chair, she leaned over just enough so her fingers could delicately touch the fragile binding of a red book. The side read, "Botanical Gardens from Around the World." She didn't know what botanical meant, and wasn't in the mood to find out. As she did with every book, she carefully slid it out of the dusty shelf, and did her best to fill in the gaps with other books surrounding it.

The book had a red leather cover, and the writing was in gold. At least, that was what she thought. The lighting in the room was very bad and though she yearned to turn on just one tiny light, she knew from experience not to take any chances. Quietly, October hopped down onto the hardwood like a pro.

She didn't waste any time tearing out three pages, setting some ink and a quill she had stolen on the table. Silently, she addressed her letter.

_Draco, _

_I am sorry I didn't write sooner. It was hard getting all the paper and the quill and ink. I had to steal some from your father. Guess what? I found the story I told you. Cinderella. It was in a book called Grimm's Fairy Tales, have you heard of it? It was too much of a beautiful book to rip up. That reminds me, I am writing these notes to you on the back of a page from a book. I didn't know where to find paper. It's starting to get cold here, how about Hogwarts? It's really lonely here, I wish you could come back sooner. _

_See you in December, _

_October_

* * *

Meanwhile, Draco's life was pretty good.

As you can imagine, he had several friends and was considered popular. His father had been thrilled when Draco sent him a letter telling him that he was accepted into Slytherin. He lived in the upstairs common room, right next to his friends Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle. They were good company, though Crabbe and Goyle were often very thick. Sometimes, it was very funny.

He had his fair share of enemies, too. His first meeting with "The Boy who Lived" had certainly not gone as he expected. Really, he thought that Potter was going to come straight into his group. He certainly would fit, Draco's coterie was popular and came from good families. However, Potter had decided to join Weasly and the mudblood, Granger.

It's not like he would've had a problem with Weasly or Granger, had it not been for the fact that they were friends with Harry. Of course, he would still scorn Granger for not being born from a wizarding family, but he would for all other mudbloods too. But no, they had to pick Potter over him. Draco would show them what it cost to be friends with scum like him.

When he lie in his bed at night, he wondered if October was sitting near the fire, writing him a letter. Yes, although he tried to block the hazel-eyed girl from his mind, he couldn't seem to do it. She was everywhere, even in his dreams. He awaited the letter she was supposed to send, telling him that it was alright to send her messages. It finally came in the middle of October.

When his owl came through the door of the Great Hall, he was excited. He knew that it may not be a letter from her, so he was sure not to keep his hopes up while the owl came flying toward him.

His owl was carrying a manilla envelope, pretty plain except for the few smudge marks on there. As the owl got even closer, he realized that the marks were not smudges.

They were ashes.

Suddenly, he jumped up from his seat. The owl got close enough, and he greedily grabbed the letter out of it's talons. He ripped the letter open from the top, and pulled out three half pieces of paper. They looked as though they had been torn out of a book.

At first, he was confused when he saw several lines of printed text, but then he flipped it over. There was jagged handwriting, some of the messiest he had seen. He knew then the letter was from October.

Someone punched his right shoulder. "Who's that from, eh? You're girlfriend from back home?" said his friend Blaise.

The whole group laughed. Malfoy sent a scowl toward them. "It's from.. a friend. None of your business."

Another boy gave out a laugh, "It's obviously from a girl. Let me see-" the other boy, Goyle, tried to grab the shabby letter out of his hands.

Draco was too quick. He pulled back, and held the letter close to his chest. "I told you, it's none of your business who it's from! It's mine, that's all!"

The boys pestered Draco all week about the letter, and they wanted to know if it was from a girl. Draco kept quiet, if they knew about him and October they would certainly rat them out to his father. Mr. Malfoy would certainly then get rid of her.

He was thinking about this on his way to Potions. He worked all period on a worksheet, but his mind wasn't focused on that. He was somewhere else, and he didn't realize that it was almost time to go until the bell rang. He jumped out of his seat and quickly collected his belongings.

He handed the piece of parchment to Professor Snape, and was on his way, hurrying back to his room so he could write October back. _She must be very lonely right now,_ he thought. When his mother and father were on business trips, Draco had spent many lonely nights in his room, awaiting their return. That was before he became friends with October.

Absent-mindedly, he made his way back to the common room. He froze when he saw Blaise holding up three pieces of book paper, smirking at Draco. "So, you have a girlfriend now?"

Draco turned white, "First of all, she is not my girlfriend. She's my... friend. And secondly, you can't tell anyone about this. Not even Crabbe or Goyle, and certainly not my father or mother."

He waved his hand. "Don't worry Malfoy, I got you're back. But when were you going to tell me you were in love with the servant girl at your house? You said you had never talked to her."

"Okay, I am not in love with her. And how did you know she's the servant girl?" Draco asked.

He smirked again, "Well, honestly the part about her being your servant was pretty easy if you ask me. She had to steal paper from your father, and that means she must live in your house. From there, it was easy to put the pieces together. But seriously, why did you lie to me?"

He ran a hand through his white hair. "Well, the thing is that I never intended to be friends with her in the first place... I dunno, it just happened. I lied to you because I thought you would turn me into my father."

"Well, I'm not. I am NOT a tattle-tale. I won't tell anyone, don't worry," said Blaise.

"Thanks," replied Draco. He didn't know if he fully trusted Blaise, but one thing was for sure. He couldn't send any more letters to October, because his father could easily find out. One last letter, but nothing anyone could mistake as something that wasn't meant for his parents to see.

He sat down at the desk in the common room, and started writing on fresh paper. An idea sparked as he was writing. Christmas was coming soon enough, and he guessed that October had never gotten a present. He hated the idea of her writing on books she wanted to read, so he could get her paper and a quill as a gift.

After he was done with the letter, he went to bed satisfied with his idea for a gift.


End file.
